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W.E. Stedman Grand Prix - C2

South Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA, December 9, 2006

Johnson, Bessette win Rhode Island #1

Picking up where they left off two weeks ago the wife-husband duo of Lyne Bessette
(Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) won today's
W.E. Stedman Grand Prix in South Kingston, Rhode Island, round 6 of the 2006
Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series. Less than 20 miles from the
site of next week's U.S. national Championships, the penultimate Verge NECCS
race went to form, with Bessette dominating the elite women's field and Johnson
forming an early breakaway and then soloing in for the elite men's win.

On a dry afternoon with temperatures hovering in the high-30s, Johnson initiated
a strong early move with U.S. National Champion Todd Wells (GT), Jeremy Powers
(Jelly Belly), and Matt White (FiordiFrutta). The quartet rode well together
with White the first to come off. An acceleration by Johnson eventually dropped
Wells and Powers and it was clear sailing for the defending Verge NECCS champ.
Powers came in for second with Wells filling out the podium.

As she has done all year in the Verge NECCS races, Bessette set a withering
pace from the gun and never looked back. Even with other regional champions
in attendance - recently crowned Verge Mid-Atlantic champ Deirdre Winfield (VeloBella-Kona)
and Oregon Cross Crusade winner Rhonda Mazza (Vanilla-S&M) - Bessette showed
no mercy in chalking up another win. Winfield took second with Mazza coming
third.

With her fourth win in as many starts, Bessette regained the elite women's
leader's jersey, helped in large part by former jersey holder Mackenzie Dickey
(Verge) recording a DNF. The elite men's race tightened considerably with White
(FiordiFrutta) clawing to within 5 points of Series leader Mark McCormack (Clif
Shot) going into the final race. McCormack lost the overall title to Tim Johnson
in 2005 on the final day of the Series. The Verge NECCS concludes December 10
in with Caster's Cyclocross.